Sprayer



Dec. 26, 1950 K. G. WANKE 2,535,469

SPRAYER Filed Dec. 23, 1947 Buneutor 3g g I Gttorneg Patented Dec. 26, 1950 SPRAYER Karl G. Wanke, Vienna, Austria Application December 23, 1947,=Serial N0. 793389 -In.-Austria October 5, 1946 i'Sect'ion 1,1Pu'blic Law B90. August8,'.1946 Patent expires October '5, 1966 :2 Claims. 1

This invention concerns an appliance for enabling-uniform spraying over an exactly quadran- .igu'lar :area, in particular the effective spraying :ofthe :corners of fields or plots of quadrangular shape.

Since the simple rotary motion of a sprinkler hea-d does not enable "the completehspraying of a (rectangular) field orplot, the corners remaining uncovered by thespray wliileadjacentplots, the "spraying whereof is not desired, are included "in the radius of spraying, it has been attempted to find a practicaly useful means for the complete sprayingo'f quadrangular surfaces'in'thesoecalled swiyelling sprays, in which coupled pipes provi'ded with-a number ofismall nozzles are made to perform 'a swinging motion by means of -a"water motor. In-an alternativeiform-of rotating spray the alteration of the spraying angle is e'fiectedby "the periodical movement -of a slide valve across the nozzle aperture. For the operation of this arrangement it is necessary to provide an addi- "tional turbine drive,

Even with these twoknown devices it is not possible to obtain completely uniform spraying or rectangu ar 'or quadrangular .sur'faceszand, in ;particular accurate spraying of'the corners. "The "reason is,1tha't hitherto the-speed of rotation of the-:nozzlehasibeenmainta ned constant; -whereasr'the spray nozzle of asprinkler appliance. should "'befstationary at the instant when the jet reaches a corner, "in order to enable this "portion 'of "the areato be properly sprayed. "Sprinkler appliances of "known types consequently supply a ,?spray "of 'insufiicient density at the corners in 'par'ticular,"and cannot prevent thesecorners-from becomingrounded off. They all "operate on the principle that the direction of the jet is intermittentl var'ied at regular intervals, without, how ever, eliminating the consequent irregular spraying of the surface.

It has also been'proposedtoiemploy:an axially impacted turbine to operate a sprinkler :heacbbut only for spraying circular areas. Consequently, the speed of rotation of the spray is always uniform-and the initially adjusted distance between "the free "jet turbine and the nozzle tip remains constant during the process of spraying; thus, no variation of the-speed ;o'f-rotation:is possible.

The .present invention enables an axiallyspraying jet, using either pure water, .or waste 'Tli'quids'and fli'quid manures, without fear .o'fob- "structi'onto effect uniformspraying over. aquadrangu'lar area,

Such uniform spraying of quadrangular surfaces, in particular the complete spraying of the corners, can only be achieved by periodical irregular rotation of the spray nozzle.

For this purpose, the-wide angle sprinkler head comprising an axially "impacted free jet turbine placed in the path of a jet issuing freely from the rotating nozzle of thesprinkler, is, according to the present invention, developed as a periodically irregularly swinging and control able mechanism.

"The irregularity of the swinging motion is required to enable the spray nozzle to be rotated with continually varying speed. For this purpose the appliance in accordance-with the present invention is developed in such. a manner that the speed of rotation of 'the'spray nozzle is reduced, nearly tozero at the corners of the area 'to' be sprayed, causing the jet to be practically stationarywhen reaching a corner, the speed of the jet thence'increasing gradually to a maximum at the middle of the side of the quadrangle, and subsequently fal'ing steadily again, until the next corner is reached, when the jet is nearly at rest. The rotary motion of the sprinkler head is controlled by the altered impact of the water on the turbineblades when the turbine is swung into the path of'the jet, with consequent higher pressure on the blades and higher speed of the turbine, in an irregular manner, in particular is made to increasewhen the'turbine is swung into the path of the jet and to decrease when the turbine is swung away from the jet. This change in the speed of rotation takes place four times during a run revolution of the sorinkler'head. "Simultaneously, when the turb ne is swung in, the "jet issuing at a constant angle becomesinoreasingly d snersedand atomized andtherefore necessarily "shortened; while when the turbine is swung out, "on the-contrary, the opposite process takesplace; in this manner, an exactly quadrangular area can be completely sprayed during a single revolution of the s rinkler head. The square sprayed has sharply defined corners and the sides are iniact slightlypontracted at the middle.

The free-jet turbine is of special design, :its blades being adapted for the most favourable "angle of incidence of the flow, ensuring effective atomization and simultaneously satisfactory lengthening and shortening of the jet. The design-of the turbine likewise enables satisfactory distribution of the water, in the 'immediate'vicinity-ofthesprinkler head and eliminates the formation ofheavy drops even with low water pres- The sprinkler head is set inmotion-"au'tolmatically when the waterjet strikes the turbine and issuitable for nozzles of varying aperture, and hence for spraying quadrangular surfaces of difierent sizes.

The accompanying drawing shows an example of a spraying device for quadrangular surfaces in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 1 shows the complete appliance in axial section.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the driving mechanism.

Fig. 3 is an elevation of the opened front, swivelling gear box.

Fig. 4 is an elevation of the turbine.

Referring to the drawing, the water supply pipe I carries the spray pipe 2, rotatably mounted in ball-bearings 3 and bent at the tip in the usual manner, to an acute angle from the horizontal plane.

The spray pipe carries two gear boxes, the front gear box 5 for the swivelling mechanism and the rear gear box 6 for the speed drive. The shaft 1 carries the free-jet turbine 8 the blade ring of which projects over the nozzle 9 at the tip 4 of the spray pipe, and which is set in rotary motion by the water jet issuing from the nozzle. This rotary motion is transmitted by the shaft 1 connected by a coupling consisting of a length of rubber piping 26 to the lay shaft 21 and after considerable reduction in the worm gears I4, I5 to the three flexibly-jointed sections forming the shaft I8 carrying at its rear end the bevel Wheel II working on the gear ring I2 of the pedestal mounting and thus causing the spray pipe 2 to rotate. One complete rotation of the bevel wheel I I causes the sprinkler head to rotate Once. The front end of the shaft i0 carries a gear wheel I3 engaging a second gear wheel I8 provided with an eccentric pin If. The turbine shaft 1, running in ball-bearings I 8, passes through a sliding block I9 carrying a slotted plate 20 with a slot 2| in which the pin I'l slides. Each revolution of the turbine 8 is transmitted by the two worm gears I4, and the shaft Ii) to the gear Wheel 13, and transformed by the eccentric pin I! in the follower wheel IS into a reciprocating motion towards and away from the nozzle 9 which is communicated to the turbine shaft running in the sliding block. During one revolution of the sprinkler head the turbine performs four such reciprocating motions thus ensuring that all four corners of the quadrangular area to be sprayed are effectively covered.

When the turbine wheel is caused by a reduction in the axial distance to enter further into the water jet issuing from the nozzle, its rotational velocity is increased, causing the jet to be very powerfully dispersed and shortened. The higher rotational velocity of the turbine wheel also increases the rotary speed of the sprinkler head. With a lower rotary speed, consequently in the direction of the corners, the jet is longer and less dispersed and thus at the corners it attains its furthest range.

Special attention must be paid to the design of the turbine and the shape of the turbine blades. These blades are curved in known manner and end at their tips 28 projecting forward of the hub, in the form of right-angled triangles the hypotenuses 29 of which are constituted by the blade edges opposite to the direction of rotation (trailing edges). This form of the blades ensures that the water jet, encountering a gradually widening impact surface, is gradually shortened, causing the boundary line of the sprayed area to form the rectilinear side of a quadrangle. The jet is made to strike the curved blade surfaces under the most suitable angle of incidence. The turbine blades are advantageously so designed that the full area of the blade is outside the circumference of the hub. The jet striking the blade therefore meets the whole, instead of only a part, of the surface of the blade and the whole of the latter is therefore effective. This ensures a high efficiency of the turbine.

Between each two blades 22 an axial slot 23 is arranged, of trapezoidal form contracting towards the periphery, through which a portion of the jet can pass freely without striking the blades. In order to ensure a satisfactory distribution of the spray in the immediate vicinity of the sprinkler head,'the front of the turbine hub is provided with an exit guide surface in the form of an axially arranged conical cap 25 with a convex outer surface. Without this arrangement the area immediately around the sprinkler will remain dry.

The sprinkler appliance described above contains neither adjustable guide surfaces nor any other deflecting devices; which, moreover, would not enable the spraying of exactly quadrangular surfaces, nor any small auxiliary nozzles for driving purposes, and thus eliminates all danger of blocking or clogging. On the contrary, this sprinkler head allows the entering flow to issue from the nozzle without any impediment, thus ensuring the greatest possible range of projection of the spray in accordance with the available higher or lower service water pressure.

I claim:

1. In a wide angle sprinkler head of the type including a rotatable spray nozzle adapted to issue a jet, an axially impacted free jet turbine including a hub carrying a plurality of blades arranged in the path of the jet, said blades being curved and developed in the portions projecting forward of the turbine hub as right-angled triangles the hypotenuse of which is formed by the edges of the blades opposite the direction of motion.

2. In a wide angle sprinkler head of the type including a rotatable spray nozzle adapted to issue a jet, an axially impacted free jet turbine including a hub carrying a plurality of blades arranged in the path of the jet, said blades being curved and developed in the portions projecting forward of the turbine hub as right-angled triangles the hypotenuse of which is formed by the edges of the blades'oppcsite the direction of motion, said blades being spaced to form between each two adjacent blades an axial slot of trapezoidal form contracting towards the periphery of said turbine.

KARL G. WANKE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,163,152 Howard Dec. 7, 1915 1,297,813 Fawkes Mar. 18, 1919 FOREIGN PATENTS I Number Country Date 261,037 Great Britain July 21, 1927 265,225 Great Britain July 21, 1927 561,670 Germany Oct. 17, 1932 

